Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Luke 22:7-20
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  April 14, 2022

I was sorting through the mail the other day at home when I came across a letter covered in stickers. I called Willow over and when she came, I held it out and said, “This one is for you.” For me? She said, with a huge smile on her face. She looked at that letter lovingly and then ran around the house telling her mother and brothers the good news. Could there be any words that bring as much joy as the words, “for you”? These are words that speak of care and personal attention, of love and deeds of kindness. And this is only magnified when we consider that “for you” are words that our Savior speaks to his people in Holy Communion. That’s what I want to focus on with you tonight as we look at Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper from Luke 22.

The Last Supper is recorded four times in the New Testament, in Matthew, Mark, Luke and in 1 Corinthians 11 by the Apostle Paul. Each account agrees with each other, but also emphasizes different facets of Jesus’ words and actions. And of all the details that make Luke’s account unique, perhaps the one that most deserves our attention is the words spoken of the new covenant and how they enhance our understanding of what Jesus means when he says, “for you”. In contrast to the old covenant, the new covenant is one-sided. Thus, when Jesus spoke of giving his body for you and pouring out his blood for you, in this sense it does not simply mean for your benefit. It also means in your place. 

Under the terms of the old covenant, all kinds of blessings were promised by God for the children of Israel. However, those blessings were contingent on the children of Israel doing something for God in return. The old covenant was a quid pro quo, “I give you this for that” type of agreement, which the people broke repeatedly. In contrast, the new covenant is completely one-sided. Listen to Jeremiah’s prophecy about the new covenant written over 600 years before Jesus would institute that covenant in his blood: “Yes, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers, when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant of mine, although I was a husband to them, declares the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds, and I will write it on their hearts…I will forgive their guilt, and I will remember their sins no more.“ The new covenant, instituted by Christ in the Lord’s Supper is not a “this for that” agreement; it’s a “this in place of that” agreement. Its terms are that without any expectation of us—without condition at all—Jesus’ body and blood are given in place of ours to forgive our guilt and forget our sin. Notice how nothing is required by God in return. It is a perfect substitution, a perfect fulfillment, a perfect sacrifice. It’s simply a gift. It’s for your benefit and in your place, it’s for you in both senses.

The hard part is that we often are so distracted and self-absorbed to really take stock of those two wonderful words spoken by our Savior. In fact, that was the disciples’ issue that first Holy Thursday in the upper room. You see, right after Jesus said those profound words which instituted the first Holy Communion, it was revealed that one of them would betray him. Suddenly they question among themselves which of them would do this, which devolves into a debate about which of them is the most loyal, the greatest of the disciples. In other words they were so worried about their capability to sin or too proud of their piety to truly appreciate those two words, “for you”. But before you shake your head at the disciples, aren’t we often tripped up by the same concerns? 

#1. Concerned about our capability to sin. Like the disciples discussing the betrayer in their midst, so too, our concern over our capacity to sin often makes us think that we forfeit any benefit that the faithful should receive in this Sacrament. We think, “Well, I’m sure the people standing next to me at the table would probably call me Judas if they knew some of the things I did this past week. I’ll go up, but I’m too ashamed, too honest, to take comfort from Communion. Sure, maybe I’d be forgiven but I said sorry for that one sin each week for the past 10 years. I can’t stand under that temptation, if God has any sense he can’t really consider me forgiven. When Jesus speaks of his body and blood he’s talking to other people when he says for you.”

Or perhaps you aren’t wallowing in shame, but you’ve fallen into the other ditch. #2. Proud of our personal piety. The disciples who were arguing about who was the greatest weren’t correctly appreciative of all that Christ had just promised them in the Lord’s Supper. And while we might not debate our greatness, is it possible that we can take it for granted that Christ says for you when we are foolishly proud of personal piety? I mean, after all, we come to church regularly. We’ve been coming to communion twice a month for decades. And, while we sometimes can think of specific sins, they really aren’t that big of a deal, or at least we don’t feel that bad about them. Communio is wonderful of course , but it doesn’t really strike us as incredible that Christ would give his body and shed his blood for us. We’re his disciples!

Come to think of it, none of us deserve to be called Christ’s disciples, anymore than the original 12 did. Certainly we don’t deserve to have Christ give himself for us. But, the New Covenant doesn’t depend on us, does it? Jesus continued to do just as he promised that first Holy Thursday. The next day he gave up his body up to scourge and nails. His blood was poured out at the foot of the cross. And he didn’t do it for those who deserved it. He did it for Judas and for Peter. He did it for you. He died in your place and every blessing of the New Covenant, cut and sealed in his sacrifice, is for you too. You are completely forgiven—forgiven for the times you doubted the reach of God’s grace and forgiven for the times you didn’t value it enough. No one could ever out-sin the sacrament of Holy Communion; it is precisely for you who are most burdened by their sin. And, here in the sacrament we come to estimate the price of our sin rightly, it is for you in your pride, granting a renewal of gratitude for the unfathomable love of Christ.

In general, the Lord’s Supper embodies a principle that we must keep our focus on God, not on ourselves. Lest we fall into the ditch of despair or pride, Jesus directs our eyes and ears to his Word. He directs our hands to take and receive. He commands our mouths to eat and drink. He commands our focus so that he can speak those two wonderful words to our hearts, “for you”. The Lord is the one who invites us to the table. He is the one who prepares the meal. It’s his food and our fill. To say it simply: The Lord’s Supper isn’t something you do for God, it’s something God does for you. This is not our act of penitence, nor is a deed of self-righteousness. It is a sacred act of God which promises the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. It is an intimate, ritual moment in the life of faith where Jesus promises that he is truly present in with and under the bread and wine. It’s a gracious meal served by Jesus for you.

I’m reminded of visiting a man named Don during my Vicar year in Michigan. He was a slightly sour man, embittered by age and chronic pain. I can still picture his apartment. Dark ruts were worn into the carpet in lazy lines from the armchair to the bathroom and down the hallway to his bed. His path hadn’t deviated from that route for the past 10 years or so. I couldn’t stand the smell of his place, but you couldn’t blame him: he could only shower once a week when his nurse came around. I can still see him running a thin hand across his chair’s armrest, telling me that he was just waiting to die. 

Every time I visited him, we came to this point. We talked about the weather, we talked about his previous work, about his kids who didn’t visit him, but it always came back to this thought. “Nothing to do. Just watching that screen, waiting to die.” And he was right. He had nothing to do. 97 years old, living in a rented room, filling up the last days of his life with soap operas and game shows that he couldn’t hear  very well. I remember one day, when he was particularly in pain, he said: “Well, why don’t we get on with it then?” “Get on with it?” I asked, “What do you mean?” He said, “Communion. It’s the one thing you can do for me, isn’t it?” Again, he was right. So I hopped to it, fumbling around with the communion set, spilling a little wine in the process. But despite my awkwardness and despite his pain, the Lord was powerfully at work in the Sacrament. Don’s eyes teared up as I gave him the body and blood of Christ, and as I spoke those special words from Jesus’ own mouth, for you. After the blessing he thanked me and apologized for his temper. I was simply humbled to see God at work. The Lord’s Supper was true comfort and consolation for him. Even when everything else was stripped away, Christ was still present with him in, with, and under the bread and the wine. Even when it seemed like the world had nothing for him, Christ still spoke those two beautiful words to his soul: “for you”.

That is our consolation on this night as well. May these two words always put a smile on your face and in your heart. May you always receive the Lord’s Supper in astonished joy, knowing that Christ’s body and blood was given both in your place and for your benefit. Trust this and go in peace, knowing that your guilt is gone and your sins are truly forgiven and forgotten by our dear Lord. Amen.